Porridge stick - Kayuzue

Japanese: 粥杖 - かゆづえ

A stick used when boiling rice porridge on Little New Year's Day, the condition of the rice grains is used to predict the year's harvest, and it is also used to pray for the birth of a boy by hitting a newly-wed bride on the buttocks. Depending on the region, it is called various names such as Hara Menpin, Iwai Ki, Koushi Ki, Bainoki, and Ooki. It has been practiced since the Heian period, and is described in The Pillow Book, Sagoromo Monogatari, and Ben no Naishi Nikki. The custom of hitting a woman on the buttocks with a porridge stick will result in the birth of a child is thought to have originated from the same belief as Narigishime, which is performed to pray for a good harvest.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

小正月の粥を煮る際に用いる棒で，米粒のつく状態によってその年の豊凶を占い，また新嫁などの尻を打って男児が生れるよう祈願したもの。地方により，孕 (はら) めん棒，祝い木，幸い木，ばいの木，大の木など，いろいろな呼称がある。古く平安時代から行われ，『枕草子』や『狭衣物語』『弁内侍日記』などにその記述がある。粥杖で女の尻を打つと子供が生れるという習俗は，豊作祈願として行われる成木責めと同じ信仰から起ったものと考えられる。

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